Why isn't my house selling?

Here's a question that is being asked of many agents at the moment, "why isn't my house selling?".

Of course, every case is different but I just love the responses given to this question on the MSN money site here. The article opens with:

Has your lawn grown up around that "For Sale" sign? Have the wasps moved into the lock box on your front door? Did you just receive an invitation to your real estate agent's retirement party?

If so, chances are your home sale fizzled.

Here are the six most-common reasons why homes don't sell and what you can do about it.

It then gives the following reasons:

1. Your home is overpriced

2. Your home doesn’t present well

3. You’re in a bad location

4. You have made a bad choice of estate agent.

5. You are battling market conditions

6. You have ineffective marketing

Two of these are beyond your control (bad location, difficult market) but the other four are absolutely down to you. 

It's not rocket science....make sure the price is absolutely competitive (do your own research don't just rely on the agents valuation), clear the clutter, tidy the drive and entrance (first impressions are everything), employ the best agents (not the cheapest) and make sure they take great photos and market the house in ads, online and in prime position in the shop window.

Get the basics right and 2010 should see you get the sale you've been waiting for.

www.cognacproperty.com

Property marketing - the future is now

Just released - Cities in 3D.

This is a video preview, imagine the impact this is going to have on the way consumers search for property in the coming years.

Fancy buying a house in Cognac but don't know what it's like out here?  Take a tour of the town....check on the map to see what properties are available...find a couple that look interesting....download the floorplans & internal photos then look them up using the 3D feature.

Like what you see then call me and I'll go buy it for you at the lowest price possible.

The quantum shift in power is taking place from the seller to the buyer and the services offered by estate agencies are going to mirror this shift.

www.cognacproperty.com

Property marketing - the shadow of Google

Two separate events have got me thinking over my coffee & croissants this morning.

The first was a tweet from Sarah Beeny about the new property portal she has created. You can see it at http://www.tepilo.com/

It has been brilliantly designed and is friendly and easy to use. You can promote your property online for free and get online guidance throughout the process. There's even an "Ask Sarah" button although somehow I can't see her sat in an office waiting for mundane emails from all and sundry.

Rightmove, Primelocation and Propertyfinder have sown up the market in terms of listing sites for agents to post details but I think that Sarah Beeny's site has a genuine chance of influencing the market in terms of private sales. People have been trying to do this since the internet launched (and before) but nobody has really succeeded.

The second event was when I stumbled across Ben Wood on twitter. He's Head of Property at Google and you can read one of his white papers by following this link.

I guess that even Google themselves don't know in which way their "property" team is going but we shouldn't underestimate the power of what is now probably the biggest brand on earth.

When I started my French property search business in 2003 I used to send clients photos of properties I had seen for them. Now, thanks to Google I can also upload video and zoom in on the house and locality from outer space down to the tiles on the roof. Researching the area (shops, schools, parks, events) is also a doddle.

A year ago Google announced that they were going to exploit some of their existing data and technology and the Times ran a short piece with the headline "Google ventures into the property market".

Now, they have just announced a major sponsorship of this years prestigious "What House" awards.

The house buying process is being flipped on it's head as you read this post. At the moment Google are researching, innovating and hovering....pretty soon they may well swoop.

www.cognacproperty.com